So, what it's like to be a woman who's over 6 feet tall?
To begin with, to be extra-tall is to be somehow more public than the average woman. Everybody sees me. Strangers on the subway peer upward and tell me about their childhood neighbor who was tall. Fellow grocery shoppers sheepishly request my help procuring items from upper shelves. Male passers-by mutter, "That was one giant woman." Men seem particularly inclined to register one characteristic: tall.
I'd add to that: Fratty dudes in bars will chant "6 footer!" or loudly make bets with each other about how tall I am. (Well, I've actually had restaurant wait staff and fellow wedding guests make bets, too, so maybe it's unfair to pin that one on the bros alone.) People stare openly, all the time, everywhere I go. There are some days, namely those when I'm wearing whopping 1-inch heels, that I feel like I leave a ripple of height comments in my wake. Small children point and say, "Mommy! Look at the giant lady!" Women who feel insecure about their own height will often say to me, "I wish I was that tall!" No, honey, you don't. Really.
But it does have certain benefits.
I've come to realize that I can learn a lot about people I meet by how they react to my height. Lately, having just moved to a new place, this has been happening a lot. Most of them will wait until the second or third time we've hung out to casually insert into conversation, "So.... how tall are you exactly?" This is a question I realize probably occurred to this person within the first few minutes of our meeting, and the time elapsed until they ask it aloud is the time it took them to feel comfortable around me.
Of course, lots of strangers just ask up front. Rarely anything creative, usually just the same thing either in question or statement form: "How tall are you?" and "You're so tall!" Even though these comments have become a part of every day life and tend to roll right off me, I reacted when I was 13. (I've been this height since the 7th grade, when I was the tallest person in my junior high school.) Through my most awkward adolescent years, every time a stranger pointed out my height I felt completely exposed, as if everyone around me was focused on my physical person. (Not fun.)
To a certain degree, I still get angry at well-meaning strangers who feel it's OK to make a comment about my body. It's not. I don't walk up to short men and ask how short they are. I don't approach strangers and announce to them what color their skin is. I don't approach other women to tell them how skinny or blonde or freckled they are. Also, I hate it when strangers ask me if I'm a model or if I play basketball/volleyball. I never ask short men if they're a jockey. (Well, I do if they're being an asshole to me. But never out of the blue.) I hate that people immediately think my physical characteristics have anything to do with my career or interests.
Then there are people who are just plain rude (people in this category are most often drunken groups of dudes). I'm constantly trying to figure out the best snappy response to their inane comments, but my big mouth always fails me at the crucial moment. Someone recently suggested I respond to mean-spirited bros who pose the height question by saying, "And how tall are you, little guy? Are you still growing?"
Although overall, my height is admittedly a huge asset when dealing with men. I really came to appreciate this a few months ago, when some guy catcalled me on the street, then followed me in to a taqueria. He stood between me and the counter, asking, "How tall are you, baby? You got a boyfriend? I bet you don't. Damn, you look sexy, you're doing something right... etc." Usually it's pretty easy for me to tell harassers like this (whether their comments be sexual, height-related, or both) to shut the fuck up. But this guy was tall. Maybe even slightly taller than me. And it became quickly apparent just how much of my self-confidence in those situations is derived from my extraordinary height. I'm used to stepping into the personal space of whatever twerp is hitting on me (or on one of my friends), looking down my nose, and shutting him down. It's not that my gangly frame poses any sort of physical threat-- it's just emasculating to be looked down on by some girl over whom you're attempting to assert your sexual power. It works.
But after I left the taqueria with my burrito, I went to a friend's house and complained to her for the better part of an hour about how horrible the experience had been. Sure, it was partly awful because this guy followed me into a restaurant and wouldn't leave me alone when I told him to, and the employee working behind the counter gave the harasser a knowing "I'm with ya, buddy" look. But it was mostly because I couldn't tower over him.
When it comes to men I do want sexual attention from, I haven't had the same issues that Cohen describes in the Nerve piece. I've generally found my abnormal height to be a positive, as men who are not emasculated by dating a woman who is 6'2" are likely to have other awesomely feminist qualities. (Cohen also writes about men who are height fetishists, something with which I have absolutely zero experience.)
Overall, Cohen's description of the Tall Clubs event makes me think they should offer a tall-women-only convention. I LOVE meeting, hanging out with, and even passing other tall women on the street. We just look at each other and give the chin-thrust "'sup" greeting. Yeah, we know what's up.
I could ramble about height all day, but I'll cut myself off here. What are some of your experiences with the intersection of stature and gender? I'd be curious to hear.
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I'm 6'4" (I'd been saying I was 6'3" until I went to a doctor's appointment this week and came in at 6'5" with shoes on. I'm fairly sure I grew this year and I'm in my mid twenties.)
But my height experience is different and obviously informed by the fact that I'm a guy. I'm taller than almost anyone I meet and have been taller than my cohorts since I was 13 or 14. The most noticeable effect of this is that, for the most part, I never notice how tall other people are. I have to think really hard when comparing my friends heights, men or women. In fact, I probably couldn't tell you which of my friends are taller than others. I just don't notice height in comparison with other people - unless they're taller than me.
Obviously I have arrived at this position because I am taller than most people and so I stopped qualifying height. I only recently discovered this fact about myself and it has always felt weird relating it to other people.
My height has only been a detriment when traveling. Coach air travel tends to leave me looking like a pretzel and long car rides are killer on my knees. So if you're going to wish yourself taller, I'd say down ask for much beyond 6 feet...
Most of my personal intersections have ended with the name "VOIT" imprinted backwards on my forehead after a mixed beach/regular volleyball game.
Maybe the only other time would be in filling out hipster bingo cards with a "skinny guy over 6'4", woman under 5'4"" square (my brother and his girlfriend qualify).
And watch out for Tall Clubs, they're actually Short People plot to indefinitely inter you.
Re: Hipster bingo.
Totally. Though it's actually "8-foot-tall guy" and "4-foot-tall girl"... and they make a great couple.
I am about 5 feet tall and am often walked over, literally, as if I were so freakshow small people didn't see me. Some people (not just men) feel my lack of height gives them the right to shove me out of their way. I have been grateful (and a little envious) when, with a tall friend, she stopped someone one from shoving me just my towering and glaring.
And yes, people have often declared to me "You are short," though not so often now that I am no longer in the "young, hot, single" demographic - though I do get walked over more now (middle aged + short = invisible?). Plus, there is the ongoing assumption that height and age or experience are somehow related, so after 20 years in the same field, I am told after a late work night, "That's okay, you can handle it, you're young," usually by a colleague 5+ years younger than me.
It's creepy, tall or short, that people feel we are public property. Still...wanna trade?
I worked in my early years in law with a woman trial lawyer who was 5'11" barefoot. She wore 4" heels to try cases, which not only put her above eye level with prosecutors, but right up with the judge at the bench. She felt that her face being up high was a tremendous equalizer. (I had a monster crush, but I think that had entirely to do with working closely together and mentor-worship, not her height.)
I am also short at 5 feet and young-looking. Because I am young, in my mid-twenties, and still relatively attractive I don't feel invisible. But my middle-aged mom, who is shorter than I, is often invisible and ignored in social situations. The worst part of being short and young-looking are the assumptions of being younger than I am. The ageism associated with being a "teenager" often comes up, despite the fact that I am a mature adult woman. Additionally, my height and perceived age seems to give anyone, especially older men, the right to ask my age and comment on my youngness. I don't care how old someone is, but it's so degrading for others to focus on my height and age and only makes me feel less confident and powerless in many social situations b/c I'm only seen as a short, young woman--implying I do not know much and am vulnerable. I have never wished to be very tall, because as the writer discusses comes with many other disadvanages. I would almost rather be invisible than the constant center of men's attention and sexual fanatsy. But why does height have to be a focus of attention in society and why does it come with a set of assumptions about the person's interest/career/age/life experiences?
I heart this post. I'm a wee over 5 feet tall and have definitely developed a complex with my height. I never had one before college; I was with a guy who was 6'2" for a couple of years during high school and barely noticed the height difference.
But from college years on, it's actually mostly other women who fed my insecurity. They often say, much of the time condenscendingly, "Aw you're so teeny tiny!" or "You're so cute!" and so on. Theey're this close to a baby voice. In result, I've felt infantalized and less of a woman.
On a more positive note, I have begun to embrace my shortness again. I should start a Short Sisters Feminist Support Group or something...
Oh, and I don't mean to say "I wish I were that tall." That's up there with "I wish I could be a cute LITTLE person" (*gack* extra gacky as it's being said to an ADULT). Though I do wish I could get that "towering and glaring" added to MY list of super-powers. ;)
I'm a 6'1" 23 year old woman, who has started responding to the "do you play basketball?" question with "No. Do you play miniature golf?" Perhaps I'm just bitter.
As a young woman, it definitely took me a while to grow to appreciate my height. But I don't think that my experience was that different from most teenage girls struggling with their body image. It just so happens that my struggles were compounded by the fact that I was so visible, which lead to more comments (both negative and positive) from others.
Of course this probably wouldn't have been the case if our society was more accepting of all body shapes and sizes.
I'm a 5'11" woman (and about 200lbs, so solid at that) and while I don't stand out like my 6'+ compatriots, with my heels I come in at a respectable 6'2-3". I lived in China for a while and yeah, it was WILD- guys would slide up to me as I was walking down the street and measure themselves against me. People were always staring up at me like I just dropped off the moon. On of my friends told me that we we first met he was afraid of me- thought I might be a wrestler or something. In China where my height was trully unusual, it WAS really weird to have people CONSTANTLY pointing it out so I can kinda relate to those who are taller and here in the US.
Conversely, it is nice to have height, it does give me confidence when talking to men- being able to look them straight in the eye or even down when we are talking helps. It also makes me feel a little safer (though this is probably a false sense of security).
"I'm a 6'1" 23 year old woman, who has started responding to the "do you play basketball?" question with "No. Do you play miniature golf?" Perhaps I'm just bitter."
On the other hand, perhaps you are awesome. I'm going to go with that interpretation.
jessicapenn,
In my 20s, I got that sexual thing too. Doubly creepy when you realize part of is that certain men are seeing you as a child. Invisibility WOULD be better if it didn't come w/ physical force.
The life experience thing. AMEN to that. Still, it's important (to me at least) to be reminded that being tall isn't a cake walk.
The thing that gets me about all of this, beyond the assumption that it's okay to make comments about a stranger's body, is that it is not odd to be a 5' or a 6' woman. I live to see the definition of normal expand to embrace NORMAL!
Yeah, the miniature golf line is awesome.
I'm another short person, and I also look about five years younger than I am. (I'm 23, most people eventually comment that when they met me, they assumed I was 16 or 18.) The comment I get the most often? "Oh, you'll be so glad of it when you're older! Being carded when you're 50 will feel great!"
Yeah, I don't recall ever asking anyone how I should feel about being small, twenty years from now.
I've also had to develop a pretty loud, "ExCUSE me!" because apparently if you're small, people forget that they have to wait their turn in line.
At 5'11", I'm not even THAT tall, but I certainly get the "so tall!" and "model" remarks.
I do like "miniature golf". ;)
And while genuine height fetishists may be lovely, I've run into more than one man who feels that dating & eventually dominating a tall woman is worth some kind of "points." I don't play THAT game any more, you betcha.
I'm a 22 yr old 4'11 female and most of the time I could care less about all the short jokes, age confusions etc. For me, my height becomes a problem when it interferes with my ability to be taken seriously in the political arena. Speaking publicly in the media or at political forums/ debates etc, I often feel that people see me as "a cute little thing (she wouldn't be angry about anything would she?)" rather than someone who has something important to say. THAT really bugs me. But hey, more passion to fuel my feminist fire isn't always a bad thing.
Thanks a lot for this piece. I'm 5'10", and I have been since I was about 10. While I've recieved my fair share of ogling and jokes at my expense (for example, did you know it's funny to yell "TIMBEERRRRRRR!!!" when a tall woman bends over? Apparently it is!), what's made me most uncomfortable about my height is they way that, when i was a child, it seemed to prove to grown men that it was acceptable to sexualize and harass me. I would be out in public and a man would ask me out, if he was polite, or tell me i had nice tits ("tits") if he wasn't. All this would happen while I was wearing a big snoopy t-shirt and acting more or less like a normal 10 year old. Usually also in front of my mother. I remember feeling so embarassed, as if, by allowing my body to grow at such an alarming rate and so early on, i had somehow invited men to treat me like I was ready to be sexual, even when i really, really wasn't. Has anyone else experienced this?
Yes raleigh, I did, and I am one of the SHORT people on this thread. Going through puberty early apparently = sexually active and available to some folks.
I created an account just so I can comment on this post. Thanks for writing it.
I'm 6 feet tall and have definitely experienced the good and the bad of my height. On the one hand, I stick out a lot so I'm a target for street harassment, subway gropers, etc. On the other hand, when I loom a little and tell them to go away, they usually do. I love being able to look everyone in my office in the eye (helps to command attention when you're the new kid) but I have to spend a lot of money to buy jeans. On the whole, I prefer it to the alternative, especially in a professional setting.
My dad (6'7") taught me how to respond to the rude people--
If they ask how tall you are, tell them your height in kilometers. Or ask them how much they weigh or how old they are. If they ask you if you play basketball, ask if they're a jockey. If they ask how the weather is up there, spit on them and say it's raining.
It's funny; I'm so extremely unremarkable in every way---thin, medium height, medium build, brunette, white. I'm like Monet print or something: Just what people expect to be there. Except flat-chested. People feel free to remark about that, which really drove home the point for me at a young age how rude it is to treat people like freaks.
I'm not quite five feet tall, and though I'm still told how short I am, now that I'm over 30 I don't get bothered with the young comments nearly so much. My personal favorite was when I was about 24 and a woman said to me, "You're so competent for someone so young!" That was actually the last day I ever wore heels to work, when I realized that even the three inches they gave me were not fooling anyone and I might as well be comfortable. It was also the day I stretched a tendon in my foot and had trouble wearing my ice skates for a long time. My 25-year-old sister is still struggling with all of those, and wears a lot of 3-inch heeled boots. I've worn nothing but loafers, clogs, sandals, and boots for the past eight years.
I don't know if it's compensation for our height, if it's being brought up in a family and community of assertive Jewish women, or if it's inherent, but my sister and I are two of the most assertive and competent women I've ever met and both have held positions of power at young ages. I'm the youngest person in management in my company and president of a board of a volunteer organization. My sister turned 25 yesterday and everyone she worked with was absolutely shocked because despite her youthful looks and small stature, she's has a master's degree, more experience, and is senior to many colleagues who are older than she is.
Playing ice hockey helps me a lot. I don't think of myself as short. I think of myself as the defensewoman you're not going to get by tonight. I can understand the annoyance of being asked about basketball or volleyball if you are tall and have no interest in it, but I have to say that my sport helps me move though a world that thinks I'm a freak because I never reached 60 inches. People don't usually want to tangle with ice hockey players, even if we're only four-eleven. Plus I'm at least five-two in skates.
raleigh, I had the same experiences growing up. I'm only 5'9" but I've been over 5'7" since I was 10 and I developed breasts at 11. I was a D cup at 14. Since I was 11 or 12 I have been harrassed by men in their thirties and fourties. When I was twelve at a restaurant with my mom a man was harrassing me so bad the manager had to walk us out. I believe I was wearing a baggy Mickey Mouse t-shirt and not-so-short shorts. This was very damaging to my self-esteem and I had a lot of self blame. I always thought there was something wrong with me that made these men think it was ok to act this way.
It frustrating that people feel that they can comment on people's physical characteristics and treat them in a degrading way. Why is it ok for someone to comment on women's breasts, ass, height, apparent age, and everything else?!
I'm 5'0", and until I was 30, I got the "you're so young" comments ALL THE TIME. From being told, at the age of 22, that I couldn't buy a copy of an adult manga at my regular comic book store (in fact, a woman who had recently started working there basically *dove* at me and screamed "You can't buy that!" to which I responded, "Oh yes I can" and whipped out my driver's license), to being asked by 8th graders when I was in grad school what school I went to (they thought I was their age), to the woman at H&R Block, when I went to get my taxes done at age 30, who not only was shocked and amazed at my age (she had asked if I'd ever done my taxes before, and I said I'd done them myself for years, which revealed that she'd thought I was 18 and this was my first year), but actually called her friends out from the back to gawk at me and my youthful appearance.
Now I'm 37, fat, and have four kids. No one thinks I'm a teenager anymore. :-)
I have also run into the invisibility issue. However, I am strong in the Don't Fuck With Me Force, to the point of being a Jedi (or maybe a Sith...) I scare away panhandlers with a single monotone "No, sorry." I was attractive before the aforementioned fat, but I have *never* been catcalled, and was only harassed in the street once in my life, when I was 15 and waiting for my school bus. So when I am part of an organization, and I manage to get the floor, people take me seriously. I might disappear *until* I take the floor, I might have to fight for the center stage, but once I'm on it no one ignores me.
I'm from New York, I talk really loudly, and I don't do self-effacing behaviors or high-pitched inflections. So if you're short, cute and young-looking, I highly recommend talking like you are an expert on the subject you are discussing, freely interrupting other people, and generally being an asshole. For some reason this gets you taken seriously once you've gotten in the door. :-)
I've been 5'11 ever since the seventh grade (give or take) I've been street harrassed my men thinking I was older because of my height...or they're just just plain twisted perverts who knowingly harrassed a 14 year old girl. I hate hate hate it when people ask me if I play basketball (I'm uncoordinated and clumsy). I've been taller than most girls my age since grade school, and believe you me I've been made fun of for it and it may or may not have scared off potential suitors. Once I got to college it wasn't as bad. There were more people around my height so I didn't stand out AS much. Nowadays I just take it with a grain of salt and say things like "Hey I'm easy to spot in a crowd" or make jokes about drinking a lot of milk as a kid and being hooked on Flintstone vitamins. :)
i remember feeling insecure about my height ever since i was 5 years old. i have a lot of self-esteen issues and partly because of this i developed a cowering posture, bending over slightly so that i can somehow become smaller and shorter. apparently having bad posture can lead to back problems in the future but unfortunately i cant find the confidence to keep my head up high. sigh.
I'm 5'2"--so taller than the short women who've posted, but short enough that I'm still treated as a novelty. I look younger than I am, too, and I always have. It is true that now, at 32, I don't mind so much that I'm mistaken for younger. It's not because I've changed my mind and come to agree that younger=better; it's because now, when people guess me to be younger, they (at least) recognize that I'm an adult. It was hard to be in my twenties, looking like a teenager, and trying to be taken seriously in interview and job situations.
I do find that I'm often underestimated. So what do I do? I totally overcompensate. Short woman syndrome, I guess. The guys are carrying boxes? I'll carry boxes with them, but I'll run up the steps. I'll talk in a louder voice. I'll get a little bossy.
And later I'll wonder why I confirmed their "superiority" by making such effort to emulate it. I realize that, to some degree, I've adopted the attitude that my short stature is a symbol of female submission. And it's not.
It's not a symbol, in the end. It's just the body I have. Chance. A series of accidents. But the notion that we somehow try to symbolize something by living in a certain body is a hard one to get past.
I'm 6' and 22. It's good to hear other women's stories that are similar to mine.
This page put a smile on my face.
My most recent encounter with the tall ? was in an elevator, packed with much shorter people. After repeating twice that I was 6 feet tall, I simply said "If you find me shoes that make me shorter, let me know, for now... I like my heels." I smiled and walked out.
You all are inspiring. Usually, i just blush and make some sort of apologetic glurp when someone comments on my height.
You know, it's funny: my previous comment was about being sexualized by men early on because of my stature, but now, as an adult, it seems I cannot be feminine enough. When I have my picture taken, I find photographers ask me to "skooch down" in pictures, so as not to tower over the men in the frame. Sometimes, at formal events where I wear heels, I even have to take my shoes off. It's amazing how many pictures I have of myself where I am either obviously cowing the men in the frame, or visibly slouching or bending backwards in order to accommodate them.
You know, I've always had this fantasy of being in a bar with my girlfriends and having one of them get hit on by some skeezy guy. He'd be about 5'5" or 5'6", and I'd turn around and yell, "who the hell do you think yer talkin' to?" and he'd retort, and I'd stand up slowly and get right up in his face and stare down at him until he left with his tail between his legs. Has anyone ever done that?
Now I'm embarassed...
I dated a guy for awhile who is 6'9", and it made me realize the plight of the truly tall. People would say something about it EVERY SINGLE TIME we went anywhere. I felt bad that he had to deal with it constantly; it was annoying enough for me, and I only heard it when I was out with him. To top it all off, he was a redhead and a stepchild.
Thank you for this post and for all the comments. It seems like whether you're tall or short there will always be shallow people judging and commenting on our physical appearances (being female and freakishly huge, small, redheaded, flat-chested, etc).
I am learning to speak and act more like an "expert" or "adult" to be taken more seriously. It's hard for people to accept me as an actual woman when I'm short, flat-chested, wear little to no makeup, don't wear heals or dress provacatively. Apparently all of those things make girls into women. Sigh.
I am self-confident and try not to let comments affect me. I'm still working on a clever comeback, but I'm usually caught off gaurd. It's still just so infuriating to be asked what grade I'm in when I'm about to earn my Master's degree!
It's good to know that other people have experiences like this. Yeah, I'll love being mistaken for younger when I'm older--what a disappointing thing to look forward to!
I'm about 5'11", and unless I see myself in a window next to one of my shorter friends I usually don't even think about it. My husband is about 6'2", so I never really feel like I'm this big giant tall person around him, more like we're of equal size.
There have been recent comments in my workplace, though - I work at a gas station, and our register/counter area is slightly raised from the rest of the floor, probably by only about two or three inches... but I get a lot of guys going, "You're a tall lady!" or "Gee, she's big!" (I'm also fat, so... I don't usually take that one as complimentary.) I had one guy comment on my height and then ask if I played sports in school and I told him, nope, I'm a musician. I was in band.
I *get* that there's a correlation between height and sports (basketball and volleyball being the two main ones), but some of us are tall *and* either physically inept or more artistically inclined (I am both)!
Jessicapenn, I don't wear makeup at all, and at one pint had to defend myself against a well-meaning co-worker - about my mother's age - who insisted I just had to get a makeover at Merle Norman and start wearing lipstick and mascara and blah blah blah. My mother never taught me to deal with my appearance in that way so I've never felt the need to bother... but it just adds more fuel to the "why is my appearance everyone else's business?" fire.
I'm just barely 5 feet, so I'm one of the short girls. My height doesn't bother me at all, and I have friends (male and female)who range from very small to very tall. One thing that does bother me, though, is that my mom, who is about 4'10" and around 63 years old is consistently treated like she doesn't even exist. I've been with her in grocery stores when she'll be reaching for something on a high shelf and the workers will walk right past her without ever offering to help. She's even been hit by two cars--on the crosswalk both times--because both drivers claim they couldn't see her. I think the problem isn't height. I think at a certain point we aren't what they consider sexually desirable, so they don't even see us anymore. There's no reason to see us.
Don't forget short women. Short women also look up to tall women. Look at Britney Spears following Paris Hilton around like a puppy dog.
Unlike everyone else here, I'm only 13. I pretty much hit puberty in fifth grade (started wearing a bra in about fourth grade, started menstruating in fifth) and according to my mother, this would explain why I've only grown about 1 inch in the past 18 months! My mother is 46 and about 5'2", and I'm just under 5'. I suppose that you could say that I'm only 13, I've still got a lot of growing ahead of me, etc. But what really irritates me, as Vanessa said, is the 'cutesy thing'. Most of my female friends are taller than me, and when commenting about my height, they either say something like, "You're so short! You're so cuuute!" (Yes people can be stupid like that) or, "I wish I wasn't so tall, I wish I was your size!" .
Once my tallest friend said the former to me, and I just lost it and told her to shut up, and she actually (can you believe it!) COULDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY I WAS IRRITATED. As if it was so weird to dislike being told that you're short all the time.
Now, the strange thing is, that if she had said, "You're so small" instead, I wouldn't have got so irritated. Why? Because I am small. I weigh 105 pounds (48 kilograms) and I wear size 6, 8 or sometimes 10, it all depends on the item of clothing etc.
Sorry about the long ranting post, I just needed to get it out of my system!
Thanks for this post.
I'm 5'2" but strong and big-boned, so I think I get away with looking taller than I actually am. I have heard tall women remark that they hate being tall, but still I have always wished I was tall. When I see a tall woman I am just struck with all the power and beauty--tall women are SEEN, while I've always been just a blip on the radar.
I started puberty ridiculously early, though, and was a C-cup by fourth grade (now DD.) It made me the target of abuse and sexual advances by adult males pretty often. It's pretty lame that a developed body = sexual promiscuity to so many--like I could really control my breast size?
I've just noticed it's interesting... a lot of short woman say they wish they were tall, a lot of tall women say they wish they were short, a lot of big-breasted women want smaller boobs and vice-versa. I wonder if we we just decided to be happy with what we had, what would happen? Would the world explode if we embraced every inch of ourselves? Dare we do it?
Realistically, I mean... I'm 5'2", but this works well with my husband, who's 5'7" (on the shorter side for a guy.) I feel like we match up perfectly, but he's just that little bit taller which means I can still look up at him and swoon. And we make good dance partners for being closer in height. Also, not being able to reach things has required me to develop more creativity in getting things done. So there's beauty to be had in my shortness after all!
My girlfriend and are the exact same height. Like, down to the quarter-inch. It makes smooching while standing up really easy.
As a not-too-tall guy (on the taller side of 5'8"), I can sort of sympathize (I hate going out with my taller male friends), though I doubt my experiences as a less-than-average height dude can match up to what some of the women here are talking about. What surprises me the most is the stories about tall women being sexually harassed; I had always thought that tall women would be "safer" from that, since I'd expect that men would be intimidated.
I have to keep reminding myself that there are many, many of my fellow dudes who aren't intimidated by anything female, who in fact observe diversity in women as a smorgasbord of features to be exploited or mocked. Fuck 'em.
At 27 years old, I'm still 5'2" with a young looking face. People think I'm 18. I certainly have the problem that other posters have stated about people not giving me the repsect that I deserve at work and in other situations. I've even read studies recently about height and intelligence (or at least perceived intelligence) being corrolated and also the corresponding disadvantage shorter people face in the workplace. I know this is even worse for men than women.
Espeacially irritating for me is when people make comments about my height in relation to my being a mother. I don't know how many times I have been told that I look like a "baby with a baby". And I often get the feeling that people do not think highly of teenagers with babies!
I really do despise it when people say to me that I will love to hear that I look young when I am 40. Who knows how I will feel about that when I am 40. I am pretty sure though, that when I am 40, people will at least mistake me for being 30 and then I can get the respect due to a 30 year old rather than a teenager.
Two last things. I find it so hard to find clothes that fit. Even petite sizes are often too large (and often unstylish). It bewilders me because I know that my height is not some great anomaly. And you tall girls have no idea what its like to try to wear pantyhose when you are short. I swear the top of the tights goes over my boobs! Its fucking ridiculous!
And going to music venues when you are short - oh god no! - I wear tall heels and I'm still eaten alive by the crowd!
Sorry for all the typos!
angryyoungwoman: I am sorry to hear about your mom. I'm 4'11" and I get ignored in the grocery store stretching for the high stuff too - but I'm young and nimble enough that I climb up the shelving units to reach my garbanzo beans. While I've never been hit by a car, I have been run down by fellow pedestrians, usually of the type who walk in groups of three and four across the sidewalk. I'm a polite person, but I won't step off the sidewalk for anybody, and if they don't see me coming, they see me after I've squared my shoulder and run smack into them.
On the dating scene, I have encountered more than one man who has rhapsodized over how small I am, how much he loves that he can encircle my waist with both his hands, how easy it would be for him to snap my wrists. I stopped seeing one guy because his fetish over my size seemed to border on pedophilia.
In addition to being under 5' tall, I need a DDD-cup bra, but the boob anecdotes probably belong in another thread.
I am a genetic freak of sorts. My mother is 5'10" (and a professional, so often wears heels that put her well over 6 feet). My father is 6'4".
I'm 5'2".
All I got when I was growing up from my parents were stories about how much harassment and embarrassment they experienced when they hit their adult heights, in middle school, and towered over all their classmates. My mom specifically told me when I reached my adult height at about 13 that she was glad I was short, because I wouldn't experience the sexual harassment that she did from about that age onward. I've always been grateful to be the height that I am.
I also tend to give off a strong personality vibe. People have always assumed I was older than I am. The first time I bought cigarettes, on my 18th birthday, I wasn't carded. I've been carded only a handful of times since then (I'm 21 now). While buying beer with my 22-year-old friend who, at 5'11", towers over me, she was carded and I was not.
People exclaim in surprise when I tell them my height, proclaiming that they would never have noticed how short I was if I hadn't mentioned it. I think it's mostly a matter of aura, but height (one way or the other) can add to or detract from the ease with which you give off that aura.
I am a genetic freak of sorts. My mother is 5'10" (and a professional, so often wears heels that put her well over 6 feet). My father is 6'4".
I'm 5'2".
All I got when I was growing up from my parents were stories about how much harassment and embarrassment they experienced when they hit their adult heights, in middle school, and towered over all their classmates. My mom specifically told me when I reached my adult height at about 13 that she was glad I was short, because I wouldn't experience the sexual harassment that she did from about that age onward. I've always been grateful to be the height that I am.
I also tend to give off a strong personality vibe. People have always assumed I was older than I am. The first time I bought cigarettes, on my 18th birthday, I wasn't carded. I've been carded only a handful of times since then (I'm 21 now). While buying beer with my 22-year-old friend who, at 5'11", towers over me, she was carded and I was not.
People exclaim in surprise when I tell them my height, proclaiming that they would never have noticed how short I was if I hadn't mentioned it. I think it's mostly a matter of aura, but height (one way or the other) can add to or detract from the ease with which you give off that aura.
Damn server error! Sorry for the double post.
Its interesting that EvilPotato's parents were thankful that her height would keep her from being sexually harassed as a teenager. I am the same height and I can gaurantee that my height has not prevented harassment at anytime since puberty. I actually developed pretty early (size C bra at age 12) and I can remember then people thinking that I was older. I used to sneak into bars around that time. Kind of funny - for most of my life people have thought that I was 18 rather than my real age - even today!
I can also remember distinctly that at several parties in college different guys literally pick me up off the ground exlaiming about how tiny and adorable I was. I guess they felt extra manly proving to everyone that they could lift 100lbs. (big deal!) I turned the tables on one really large guy and picked him to see how he liked it. Yeah - I'm small but I'm strong, or at least I know how to make the most of leverage!
As far as aura, I'm not sure about what you mean. I'm intelligent, opinionated, and I have a strong personality but people still notice that I am short. (and because of my youthful face, people still think that I am a kid). One of my best friends is 6'2" tall, very quiet, sweet, and shy but people still know that she is super tall (and she's forever asked if she is a model)
Wow, sometimes when I read things like this I despair over the lack of humanity in humanity. I'm a guy who is slightly above average height, but my older brother is short. He developed a "I take no shit from anyone attidute." I've a male friend who is 6' 10", big boned, and well over 300 pounds without being fat. He has a "gentle giant" approach to the world. For the reasons people have commented on above I wouldn't trade places with either of them.
My issue has been dealing with bald jokes and comments for the last few decades (I'm in my 50's), mostly from friends, family, and coworkers. Once on a plane the man next to me launched into the virtues of hair plugs. Things got much better a few years ago when I decided to do the Rob Cordry thing and cut my hair to about a quarter of an inch and grew a beard.
One of my heroes is a German cryptologist who worked as a consultant to my company. He flew from Germany to Santa Barbara to attend a conference then rented a car and drove up the coast to San Francisco. He had a severe cleft palate which made it extremely hard for him to speak clearly, was just over 4 foot (some form of dwarfism), and was confined to a wheelchair. He made the trip alone, the rented car had hand controls. If you know anything about the drive along the coast, you know it's all twists and turns next to a straight drop down to the rocks.
He taught me a lot about acceptance and courage just being who he was. (Making the drive was to me an example of physical courage. Making the trip as a German with those disabilities was another kind of courage.)
It's interesting to me that so many women have had bad experiences with people commenting on their height. I'm 5'11" and often wear heels and really have never felt harassed about it. When I was 13 and already 5'10" and one of the tallest people in school (in middle school or thereabouts) I hated - *hated* - being tall. I would've given anything to be 5'2". By the time I was 18 or so, I was delighted by it. The first time I really realized I enjoyed being taller than most of the people around me was when I was standing in a huge crowd waiting to see Bill Clinton speak in college and I realized I could feel the breeze when the masses of short people around me couldn't.
Also, I did play basketball - pretty seriously for a while - and maybe that helped. It certainly makes answering the question of whether I do much easier to ask. I'm a lawyer, too, and I think that being a young woman in a male-dominated profession makes my height a real asset. To the point that I think sometimes senior male attorneys take me more seriously than they would otherwise because I can look them in the eye. Odd and weird, but there you go. When I was interviewing for a job just out of law school, you could tell the shorter men were often intimidated by me. Which was weird, because I was a 24-year-old with no experience. That was when I realized that my height gave me power. So I wear heels and work with it.
One strange thing that I have noticed is that people will often ask how tall I am, and when I tell them, they say I don't look that tall. As though it's an accomplishment. Anybody else experienced that?
tankerton, I guess by "aura" I mean how you project yourself into the world. I'm not saying it's about intelligence or being opinionated, it's about how you speak and how you carry yourself.
Quite a few people over the years have referred to me as "scary." I don't think it really has anything to do with trying to be intimidating, which I don't do. I think it's more the fact that I always speak as if I know exactly what I'm talking about, which I wasn't even aware I was doing for a long time. It's habit and who I am, not the result of a height complex. I "act" older, so people think I'm older -- and, oddly enough, taller.
Some short people tend to overcompensate personality-wise, thinking that their height means they have to "shout to be heard" (metaphorically speaking). While this isn't actually true, it can have the opposite effect. It can come off somewhat like a kitten trying to roar, resulting in those all-too-common excalamations of "Oh, the little girl's angry. Isn't that so cute?"
On the other hand, if you have a young face, that can result in people treating you like a kid, regardless of height. And like I mentioned, being tall doesn't necessarily mean you'll be taken more seriously. My very tall friend who didn't get carded when I did, though she was older than me, is a perfect example. It was partially her face, which does look somewhat young, but it was mostly (I think) the way she acted; she comes off as younger than me, mostly by giggling and smiling a lot.
I'm not saying height doesn't have anything do with the reactions people have to a person. Extremes do tend to be noticed. But I do think a lot of it is the way you carry yourself, which is harder to define and doesn't get noticed as explicitly as a physical characteristic, such as height.
I hear you, tankerton, on finding clothes that fit. I've had tall women tell me that I must "have it so easy" when it comes to clothes, because "at least short people can hem things up." And, yes, I could do that, but: a) I don't know how to do it right, and having it done can double or triple the cost of the clothes; and b) they still wouldn't fit. The armholes are too big, the zippers hang too low in the pants, and I can't move my arms and legs freely as a result. But what really gets to me is going into a so-called "petite" store and being laughed at when I ask if they have socks in smaller sizes. Shouldn't they, of all businesses, know that "one size fits all" is never true, except perhaps for scarves, and that women with small feet might not want glittery teddy bears when they get tired of wearing boys' dress socks?
I delight in finding places where being short is an advantage. Like in the old house I shared with six housemates in college (the other short housemate and I had an entire corner of the kitchen to ourselves!). And the basement of the old bookstore where I worked (I could jog through it, while all the tall guys I worked with had to contort themselves to get from one place to another--which almost made up for the really high second-floor top shelves). And jogging or bike-riding in spring or early summer, when the tree branches hang low. But I'll never figure out why Lenscrafters put their "petite" line of frames in upper cases, and apparently did so chainwide. (??)
I'm 6'1 with shoes, and I always feel as if my height makes me unattractive or intimidating to men. I feel like women are allowed to be political, opinionated, boyish-looking, short-haired, or any combination of the above, but when you throw "tall" into the mix, you're suddenly a ball-buster. I live in a city of very short francophone women and my height really sticks out. I hunched until I was about seventeen (only two years ago.) My first boyfriend was one inch shorter than me, and wouldn't kiss me standing up.
I definitely love the stage presence, though. I love that I don't have to be afraid of men, and that I can walk through a club, or around the city at night, and I'm a lot less likely to get harassed. I only recently became aware that short women's embodied experience is so different from my own that it made me appreciate the good points of it rather than just focusing on the bad.
I'm actually proud of being tall - I'm proud of the fact that I've gone through the years of low self esteem, eating disorders that swung me in both directions, insecurity, body dysmorphism, and the rest of it, and come out able to stand up straight and look people in the eye without being ashamed of my body. And I also notice how beautiful other people are who don't have normal bodies, and who stick out - big women, tall women, the rest of us who "dropped off the moon" so I guess it's given me a lot of love and a bigger curiosity for other people's different experiences of body.
btw, tankerton, I meant to respond to this part of your post earlier, but I forgot. The sexual harassment that my mom experienced as a tall girl was much greater, as others have commented, due mostly to her height. Girls who get taller earlier tend to be thought of as more sexually mature, like girls who develop earlier sexually.
Despite my height, I have experienced my share of sexual harassment, including as a teen. That goes along with being female in our society! Height just tends to make people stick out from the crowd. It made my mom an easy target, because her height made her more noticeable. As a shorter woman, I tend not to be as visible in a crowd, and hence tend not to be as easily singled out for harassment.
As a 31 year old woman about 5' tall (but probably 1/4 inch or so less), I just want to chime in with my agreement to pretty much everything said on this thread. I usually walk boldly to fight through the crowds & force cars to stop for me in the crosswalk. I generally get respect and speak boldly, but I also get more than any adult's share of "little one" comments and was given a children's menu when I was in college. Someone seriously asked me how short I was last week. I was as dumbfounded as if she asked me my race. People's ignorant assumptions suck, but we also don't have to live like they are our benchmarks. Just be. I only notice my height when I'm trying to reach something on a high shelf, when I catch myself with a tall friend in a reflection, or when some moron tells me.
On a more superficial note, short/tall height is more often a shopping problem. I wish petite stores would actually make pants for the shorter end of petite. It seems like all the clothes are for women 5'4". And boots? I'd love to wear boots that go above ankle length, but for some reason shoe manufacturers think that women with a size 5 foot must have super-skinny calves not strong muscular legs like mine. I love my muscles.
It seems like all the clothes are for women 5'4"
O R L Y? I'm 5'4" and would like to be 5'8" just to fit into clothes.
Popping over from Feministe, where I also commented...
I'm 5'10", and while I don't really get comments, I definitely get looks, particularly if I'm in heels. What drives me insane is when people assume that I don't need to exercise or eat right (both of which I have difficulty doing) because I 'look so thin', even though I'm fairly standard weight. (No, I can't exactly just 'eat what I want'--it leads to poor health for anyone.)
I guess the only scenario that really gets to me is the time when I didn't respond to some catcalls and those saying them called me a 'long-legged bitch'. Not only am I supposed to play basketball well or be a good runner, apparently I'm a frigid sex kitten as well. Who knew.
I love that this post has drawn so many comments. Supports my theory that, maybe because of a tendency to focus on weight, height is an under-examined aspect of how women (and the outside world) relate to their bodies. So thanks for sharing your experiences.
I don't think anyone is under this impression, but I just want to state for the record that by rambling about my experiences with being tall, I was in no way suggesting that women on the other end of the spectrum have it easy. I realize that being short comes with its own set of challenges and annoyances and benefits. And I think it's just as appalling when strangers on the street tell my short sisters that they're "so cuuuute!" etc.
I'd echo the sentiments of one of the commenters over at Feministe, who says, "Apparently the only way to be left alone is to look exactly like everyone else. Oh, and be a white male."
O R L Y? I'm 5'4" and would like to be 5'8" just to fit into clothes.
I said at petite stores the clothes are for people 5'4". Argh.
I can't understand why people:
a) feel it's okay to comment on the looks of other people on the street - be it their height or otherwise.
b) why any man would care that much about the height of a woman.
I don't really notice the height of women, except I register if they are taller, shorter or about the same as me (I'm around 6'1" or 6'2", or 184cm).
I guess it's just one more symptom of some men feeling their "manhood" threatened.
I said at petite stores the clothes are for people 5'4". Argh.
Ah... sorry! You were talking about my dream world there.
6'0, 22, targeted by tall fetishists. I'm so glad you posted that article & I am so buying that woman's book in 2008. The more attention drawn to tall issues, the better.
One night, a few years ago, I was going to a fetish club in 7 inch heels. I heard a drunken frat boy mutter to another, Woah, she's huge, to which I replied, Yeah, you should see my dick.
Very interesting comments. A lot of women in my family have been very short, and I have never thought so deeply about what it must have meant for them.
I do think I know what EvilPotato means by aura though -- my partner is around 6'1", and no one believes it. I honestly think it's because his mother is 6'3" and most of his male relatives even taller. I think on some level he doesn't know he's tall, so others don't.
i am a 6 foot tall woman and proud of it. it was hard in middle school and high school, but i've learned to embrace it. i'm not model skinny by any means. it frustrates me when i see girls at 6' or over who weigh 100 lbs complaining about their height. another annoyance is the way that all tall men seem to love petite waify girls. i don't get it. anyway, great article!
"I've also had to develop a pretty loud, "ExCUSE me!" because apparently if you're small, people forget that they have to wait their turn in line."
bah! i get that ALL THE TIME being exactly 5 feet. ive had people push me too, since i obviously wont do anything about it being so short. thats where my bigger female freinds that im usually with come in :)
i was just at a fashion show and i was the only girl in the show that was my height BUT i was like the middle ground. the other girls were either alot taller, or like 4' 11"! it was really funny not being the weirdo for a change, and at a fashion show no less
This hit a nerve with me as well. I am a 6'0 Scandinavian woman. New York is supposedly this great melting pot of diversity where you can wear a leather tutu in the subway without anyone raising an eyebrow, yet I have never heard so many obnoxious comments from strangers or aquaintances than in New York. It beats living in Latin American and South East Asia, where people are a lot smaller, and it certainly beats the South, that's also supposedly more conservative and less diverse. It's mind-boggling. But for either snarky, catty or just plain mindless comments nobody tops the urbane, sophisticated new yorkers. Of course I am tall for a Scandinavian, but I am not THAT tall, and to be frank, my height has become more of an issue for me after, than it has in years, spending time in the US. I abhor the well-meaning "advice" my US "girlfriends" tried to give me about not standing so tall, wearing flats, remembering that some guys, you know, actually LIKE it, so not to give up hope...and the inexplicable questions about "blonde valkyries" and "viking giantess women" that never fail to completely stump me for an answer. What is UP with people slamming both my culture, my height and being creepy, all in one go? Nice work guys! And yes, I have experienced what I privately call the Onassis-syndrome - shorter guys who think they are THE MAN if they get to get with a tall woman. When I was younger being taller than my peers messed a bit with my body-image and I figured I needed to be extra-skinny, in order not to take up too much room in the world. Basically it made me feel extremely unfeminine, de-humanised in a way and I would have given my right ARM not always to be described as "the TALL girl with blonde hair" or "the tall girl in the striped tshirt". Now I've made peace with it, and slowly come to appreciate the benefits it can bring to instantly stand out in a crowd. It DOES make me feel more safe, as I mostly assume that no dude is going to assault/rape/harass me, as I am "so tall". Of course, in the US that has turned out to be a fallacy, but I still treasure this false sense of security, it gives me an automatic confidence that I think helps. Next step must be to get around wearing heels around my boyfriend who is about 6'1. Shamefully I've noticed that I feel more comfortable and kick-ass attractive wearing heels in my own country where I blend in more easily, and I am shocked at how much I relish looking, more, like everyone else. Certainly food for thought.
As a 5'2" man who's been short for his age since childhood, I've never been bothered by it (regrettably some of my dates were). Like Matt, I don't register height as much as some people, since pretty much everyone looks "tall" to me.
I've often been told by my tall women friends that tall men have a propensity for really short women (drives the tall women up the wall)--is that the experience of the women posters?
It amazes me that tall women get this kind of crap from men. I absolutely love it when a woman can easily look me in the eye. When it comes to my attraction to women, intelligence and personality have always been the most important traits (understanding that some physical attraction is necessary). And while I have been attacted to many short women (also sligthly round, or flat chested, etc.), I always found tall, athletic women especially attractive. Feel weird saying it here (and hope I don't sound like the creepy guy), but this topic blows my mind.
Men apparently get it to. My friend is 5'5" and gets rejected a lot because he is too short, by women his height. He went on a blind date once and they had great time. She wasn't interested in dating him though because he was too short. Her height: 4'11".
I'm tall, but not quite 6 feet. Let me an add that it's flat out rude to point out a stranger's physical characteristics, whatever they may be.
Just wanted to add a tall girl gripe- when will clothing stores start treating women intelligently and put inseam numbers on women's pants? It's good enough for men.
Sirenz, have you considered running for office? Because I'd support your candidancy based on a pledge to have women's pants sizes be based on inseams. (Add waist & hips to make sure the pants would always fit and I'd be your #1 donor.)
By the way, I'm from a clan of short Scandanavians. It makes the beauty and height pressure that much greater when everyone expects that my heritage would make me tall, blond, and fit.
I am 6' tall (and a redhead) and this article made me smile.
Being tall can be frustrating at times, but I have come to realize that the blessings can outweight the drawbacks. Even though I'm not "model" like, I enjoy sports because of my height. No, I don't play basketball to the suprise of many who ask. Also, because of the many comments about my height, I don't view height as such a descriminating factor (whether you are short or tall). My best friend is 4'11" and I'm 6'.
I've found this thread and comments quite interesting. Many of these are things I never thought about, being of average height. My weight, on the other hand, has often drawn not-so-nice comments. And it's impossible to find clothes that fit...for someone my height (5'7"), I have short legs...the bulk of my height is in my torso. Which means pants are ALWAYS too long. And forget about fitting into a well tailored dress...my hips and waist are too low. And most blouses (especially low V neck or wrap) never fit because they assume women have no boobs! I've got too much chest to fit into most clothes I like!
I can say, though, that recently, I have had my first real taste at other people thinking my body is somehow their business: I became pregnant. Why do strangers feel it's ok to touch my stomach without asking? Or feel entitled to know about every detail of my pregnancy? Or, in return, tell me every detail of theirs? And while I'm not super big yet, the comments I've heard made toward other pregnant women stun me! I need to start thinking up a smart ass response to the "So, did you swallow a beach ball?" question? Yes, I'm pregnant and it makes my body look different. But it's still *MY* body, and no one but my husband is allowed to touch it without asking!!! And even the strangers that do ask, it's not like I walk up to men and ask to feel their chest or their arms, or walk up to women and ask to feel their stomach? Why do people feel it's ok?!?!?
I'm 6' (have been since middle school), and my fiancee is around 5'7"/5'8 (not sure of the exact number). It's...weird. We've been together two and a half years, and sometimes I still feel like an awkward giantess (especially around his short, petite sisters).
The worst part is buying pants (I suggest Newport News and Bullhead, by the way). :P
I'm 6' (have been since middle school), and my fiancee is around 5'7"/5'8 (not sure of the exact number). It's...weird. We've been together two and a half years, and sometimes I still feel like an awkward giantess (especially around his short, petite sisters).
The worst part is buying pants (I suggest Newport News and Bullhead, by the way). :P
I am 6'1" at age 43 and was 5'11" by the time I was 13. I also developed large breasts early on. It was disturbing to get so much intense sexual attention at that age from men of all ages, many of whom DID know my age and didn't care--creepy.
I did find that boys who were shorter didn't feel comfortable around me, and I was NOT good at basketball so the coaches (at a tiny school where all were expected to play) considered me a real failure.
I married a man who was 5'8" and ok with my height. It was a little awkward though, and I fell prey to the "I'm not feminine" thoughts. We did eventually divorce, over other issues. My daughters are 5'6" and 5'8" and wish they were taller!
I have grown to love my height and the authority it provides. I have found that in a group, people usually address themselves to me, and since I am the assertive type, I like that. Most people who ask me about my height are admiring of it, but I agree it is annoying, just like the pregnant-belly touching. If I do feel intruded upon when they ask how tall I am, I say, "I'll tell you if you tell me how old you/how much you weigh" (depends on which I think they'd rather not divulge)
What I think is really funny is the men who say "No way, you can't be, because I'm 6 feet and you're a lot taller than me!" Obviously it is some kind of macho marker to be 6 feet tall for a man.
I don't like lack of legroom in seats and trying to buy clothes or paying extra for it, but otherwise mostly love being tall. I own the "amazon" label!
I will say that there seems to be an industry standard that tall women are thin, since "women's sizing" (vs. Misses)is based on a height of 5'6". If one wears above a size 20, talls are rarely available--so the message seems to be "tall women, stay skinny!"
I am more bothered by my weight than my height, and this has always been the case, even though my weight has varied from a low of 150 up to a high of 220. when I was young, all my friends weighed like 110-120, and I always felt huge. This weight is not accessible to me. I was extremely thin even at 150. but now at 213, I do feel I am approaching an issue for myself. I like being the "tall" one, but not so much the "big" one. Goes to show you that as a woman, it's hard to escape some kind of body image issues.
I look forward to reading the book.
I'm 6'0 and it sucks.
like sara below i'll do a pro and con's
Pro's:
you can reach things that are higher for the rest of the ppl in the world
you can also hide things very well
Cons:
Barely anyone says Hi, How are you or even nice to meet you its always (99.9% of the time) "wow your tall" "holy shit your really tall" and its like geeze thanks for pointing it out i wouldnt have noticed it otherwise. Imagine if i said "wow your short" to a short person they get all offended.
Guys say they like tall girls but would never date any one taller than them and then they say they are they5'10 or even 6'0 thats not even THAT tall for a man
You constantly have chronic pain in your back and your knees
you can never just blend in
people find you intimidating
You can never find clothes
At 5'3" I've suffered from all the small/cute annoyances mentioned by others. But now my eldest daughter is 5' at ten, and I am so grateful to hear about this book. Right now she's acutely self conscious about her size, and I look forward to reading this and seeing what her life is like.
The miniature golf line is awesome.games